Meet Bluish

What is happening my prickly pears? Bluish is the pop-rock wonder band of Iris and Alex. The project operates out of a part of Brooklyn where people are in touch with their innermost feelings. As Bluish the duo pours their emotions into heavy-hitting songs. In our latest interview, we chat with Iris about the creation of the band, their year so far, and their favorite live performance to date.

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Would You Rather

every dog in the world is replaced by giant crabs or giant bats. Please explain your answer.

Certainly feeling psychoanalyzed by this notion, however, I seem to favor crabs. Flying animals are unpredictable. I feel more confident in befriending an earthbound walker, with some attitude, as opposed to a flying hyperactive shadow bird. Also, not even sure crabs make noises? So that makes me like them more, offense to the bats.

Some questions with Bluish

2020 been to you so far? Any better than 2019?

My answer to this in the beginning of the year may have been really different. Circumstances have obviously shifted and live music was a ghost of our past this year. I’ve missed playing and seeing shows every week and being in spaces with so many fans and friends. I look forward to when the music community can come back out and celebrate how much love we really share in an audience and on stage. 2020 was a year of reflection and rebuilding for me (Iris), and I think Alex could agree that we both may have needed things to pause in order to make some changes to things that were coasting under the surface. Without the live gigs, we have hit the studio! So I guess to answer the question, it was a very challenging year on a global, political, societal level, and a transformative one on the personal level.

Who is Bluish? How did it all come together?

Bluish is a music project started by me, Iris James Garrison, and Alex Harwood in 2018. Alex and I met through Clark, his partner when I was working as a barista at Little Skips on Myrtle Ave. I had been looking for a new bandmate, and I wanted to form a band instead of continuing as a solo project. We jammed one time and immediately wrote one of our favorite songs “Standby” which has a version out on Spotify and we have been able to get into the studio and produce again this year. We played as Bluish for the first time at the DIY venue The Glove. My hair was bright jolly rancher blue so it went with the look. Since then, Alex has become a total sound guy for spots like Baby’s All Right and Mercury Lounge, and he’s built out a studio in Larchmont, NY where we go to record all of our tracks.

What are your favorite subjects to write about in your music?

My music takes on the duality of self and other and can get really personal. My writing flows in and out from the second person and first-person. The experience of change and transition is something that resonates with me on many levels, and my music can really come through with imagery and collages of memories and things that go unsaid.

What is the most fun performance you have had to date?

Right before quarantine, we had a great show at Trans Pecos. The bill was with How Says (led by Mallory Hawk, and Yohuna. The place was totally packed and we had such a blast playing to a full room. I love that venue so much and I really hope it makes it through this difficult time.

Describe your perfect day off.

Crisp day in the spring or fall, grab an oat latte (as a treat, usually I’m a black coffee kind of dude). Take a stroll through the park, walk back home. Put on a record I’m particularly in the mood for. Probably try to learn the chords and sing with myself for a while. When it’s closer to sunset, go on a walk with a friend to somewhere with the best view. Get a sick dinner that involves mashed potatoes and wine. Get some sweet treats. Head home and make a fire in the back. Roast some marshmallows, have some beers and tokes, and shoot the shit with some buds.

Does your band name have any relation to the song by Animal Collective?

It doesn’t. I didn’t realize until after we had already decided. Not mad about it though, love Animal Collective!

What is your favorite board game? Do you cheat?

Bananagrams. And what’s the fun in cheating? No!

Do you have anything new coming that you are excited about?

Indeed! We have spent the year getting our first LP together. We are about 65% of the way there. Really excited to finally share our stuff and I’m glad we had time to do it this year. We are really hoping live music comes back in 2021 so we can take it on the road!

What would be the best thing to yell before going skydiving?

Fuck the Police!

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

If you want to check out some sneak peeks of our upcoming releases, we were able to be part of three amazing compilations this year. One of them was with the independent label @oofrecords led by Ava Mirzadegan and David Britton. These folks have been so amazing in creating community and love around music and artists and have built an amazing roster with a label that will continue to expand its arms to help others. The compilations, one of which was supporting @emergentworks, can be found on their Bandcamp page, and include demos of “Phase” and “Run” which will come out on our record next year.

Another new demo “ISO” was released on a comp put together by @houseofnod to support @integrateNYC. The comp was alongside tons of great local bands and artists I really look up to. This comp can be found at steakhouserecords.bandcamp.com, titled You’re Gonna Be Great.

Thanks so much!